Vocal Group 45 of the Week!

SO_BLUE (listen/download)

This lovely and timely ballad concludes the 2nd volume of "Vocal Group of the Week" 45's! The complete edition will be available for download soon and features a slick cover by J.R. Williams.

My next 45 of the week series has yet to be determined, but I will start that in the coming weeks!

Thanks Everyone for the positive feedback!

Kogar

Mid-week Movie Break

Hi there! My name is Josh and I’ve been invited to contribute a regular film feature to the mighty WFMU Ichiban blog! My goal is to do a regular weekly focus on great pop cultural artifacts from the early days of cinema through the early 1970s, likely regularly featuring the names and faces found indelibly revered on the mighty Rex’s Fool's Paradise memorial playlists.

I figured I’d utilize my inaugural post to focus on something we could all use a little of right now, and that’s levity. We’ll get to the rubber monsters, masked adventurers and secret agents later, but right now I’d like to highlight a comedy classic that works two-fold with the modus operandi of this here music-talky blog, which is highlighting great ephemera from the early half of the previous century, and providing a musical element that can be appreciated as an obscure piece of pop music history as well. The feature in question is Abbott And Costello’s Comin’ Round The Mountain; the 1951 Universal feature that follows their meeting the Invisible Man, and prefaces their being Lost In Alaska. 

Margaret Hamilton as witch Aunt Huddy in
Comin' Round The Mountain

In Comin’ Round The Mountain, Bud Abbott plays not-quite-adept talent agent Al Stewart, and Lou Costello plays bumbling would-be escape artist Wilbert Smith. When Wilbert’s debut escape attempt goes awry, Stewart’s one lucky break, singer Dorothy McCoy, realizes that Wilbert is a member of her family, the McCoy clan of Kentucky—an old hill folk family that has claim to a lost treasure secreted by clan patriarch Squeeze Box McCoy. Dorothy and the boys head back to the hills to stake a claim on the hidden treasure. In the interim, the cast runs afoul of a love potion concocted by show-stealing hill witch Margaret Hamilton (The Wizard of Oz, 13 Ghosts), forced marriages, and reigniting a feud between the McCoy clan and their rivals, the Winfields, lead by Glenn Strange in the hillified role of Devil Dan. Obviously some of the Abbott and Costello routines in the picture haven’t aged well in the eye of modern sensibilities, and the played-for-laughs running theme of child brides will likely cause some clenched teeth, but overall the humor still stands strong. The hillbilly kinfolk are portrayed in the broadest Li’l Abner stereotypes this side of an episode of Hee-Haw; this isn't a Herschell Gordon Lewis production. Think torso-long beards, shapeless felt hats and moonshine jugs corked with corn cobs. There are numerous musical pieces by co-star Dorothy Shay "The Park Avenue Hillbillie" and they are fantastic in the Spike Jones / Stan Freberg vein of humorous novelty numbers. The film also features some other recognizable faces, including character actor and dialectician Robert Easton (The Giant Spider Invasion) and singer/actress Shaye Cogan, who can be seen/heard singing “Pathway To Sin” in the 1957 Alan Freed vehicle Mr. Rock ’n’ Roll here. She also starred again with Abbott And Costello the following year in the 1952 color feature Jack And The Beanstalk. 

Poster for a double bill of Comin' Round The Mountain paired with the 1948
Marjorie Main, Percy Kilbride (not as Ma & Pa Kettle) film Feudin', Fussin' and A-Fightin'.

Co-star Dorothy Shay (born Sims) had a rather ironic career trajectory: born in Jacksonville, Florida, Shay took professional singing lessons to try and lose her southern twang to find success as a professional singer. Later, after she found fame by performing a hillbilly novelty tune “Uncle Fud” with the Morton Gould orchestra, she made her way as a solo novelty act, billed as Dorothy Shay “The Park Avenue Hillbillie”. Shay recorded a handful of records, starting with The Park Avenue Hillbillie Sings on Capitol in 1946, and eventually moved to Columbia. By the early 1960s she had changed career paths to become a bit player in television shows like Adam-12, The Virginian, The Brady Bunch and The Waltons. 

You can watch/hear Shay perform "A Little Western Town Called Beverly Hills" here.

We Have A Facebook Group!

WFMU's Rock 'n' Soul Ichiban Public group · 4,583 members Join Group Alternate webstream from the Freeform Station Of The Nation, WFMU. Tune in for the best in obscuro hits from the 50's and 60's mixed with vintage com...

It Be's That Way Sometimes

Roger & The Gypsies: Pass The Hatchet

Naomi Shelton & The Knights feat. Cliff Driver: Wind Your Clock (pts. 1 & 2)

Nina Simone: It Be's That Way Sometimes

Dee Dee Gartrell: I Must Be Doing Something Right

Chee Chee Scott: I Can't Turn You Loose

Ella Thomas & The Starlets: If You Leave Me

Lavern Baker: Bumble Bee

Jay Stutes & C. Crochet's Hillbilly Ramblers: Sugar Bee

Della Thomas with Hopeton Jonson Orch.: Let It Roll (Everybody)

Billy Thompson: Black Eyed Girl

Gene Chandler: Mr. Big Shot

Elaine Hill: You're Gonna Get It In The Same Old Way

Hermon Hitson: She's A Bad Girl

Renee Perri: I Aim To Please

Francine King: Two Fools

Inell Young: The Next Ball Game

The Symphonic Four: Who Do You Think You're Fooling (pt. 1)

The Stone Creations: Hands On A Golden Key

Doris & Kelley: You Don't Have To Worry

The Destinations: I Can't Leave You

Alvin Christy: I Don't Know What You Got

Gene Anderson: The Loneliest One

Bob & Gene & The Inversions: I Can't Stand These Lonely Nights

Ikebe Shakedown: Kumasi Walk

LISTEN NOW

Make with the Shake | Thursday at 8pm eastern!

Tonight at 8pm eastern DJ Pat K is powered up and ready to transmit another tough-as-nails episode of Make with the Shake! Tune in for a brand new set of electrifying soul, r&b, garage, and surf sounds guaranteed to blow your circuits and shake the rust off your bolts! Click here to tune into the livestream, get in on the chatboard, see the playlist, and hear the archive!

Vocal Group 45 of the Week!

LIL_TIPA_TINA! (listen/download)

One more week till this compilation is finished!

Vocal Group 45 of the Week!

YOU_TICKLE_ME_BABY! (listen/download)

The Real Nitty Gritty! This morning on DJ Roulette

The Real Nitty Gritty is up next at 11:00 AM ET on WFMU's Rock 'n' Soul Ichiban! Savage R&B, frantic freakbeat, gruesome garage, gutbucket blues, greasy rockabilly, sweaty soul, & sleazy instrotrash platters spun for your enjoyment. Follow the link for the live stream, playlist and comments: https://wfmu.org/playlists/RG

Apostrophe Now!

Larry & The Loafers: Panama City '61

The Nashville Five: Walk Don't Run '64

The Kingsmen: Louie Louie '64 ... '65 ... '66

The Venture: Walk Don't Run '64

April Stevens: Teach Me Tiger 1965

Davie Allan & The Arrows: Moon Dawg '65

The Rivieras: California Sun '65

Sandy Nelson: Teen Beat '65

Johnny Preston: Running Bear '65

Hal Blaine: Topsy '65

The Motions: Bumble Bee '65

The Trashmen: Bird "65"

Jack Ely & The Courtmen: Louie Louie '66

The Shirelles: I Met Him On A Sunday '66

The Blue Comets: Blue Comets '66

New Hollywood Argyles: Alley Oop '66

Andre Williams: Pass The Biscuits '67

Del Shannon: Runaway '67

Santo & Johnny: Sleep Walk '68

Tex Williams: Smoke Smoke Smoke–'68

Donovan: Catch The Wind '69

The Shadows Of Knight: Gloria '69

Dee Clark: Raindrops '73

William DeVaughn: Be Thankful For What You Got 1980

Andre Williams: Just Because Of A Kiss '86

Larry & The Loafers: Panama City Blues '62

LISTEN NOW

Vocal Group 45 of the Week!

 

 

TELL_THE_tRUTH!! (listen/download)

Masayo!

W/ Nathaniel Mayer

Meet Masayo, aka Grouchy Moose!  She is the voice you hear on all of the WFMU Rock 'n' Soul Ichiban jingles.  From "Do the Popeye with me" to "Get Lost Squares" and everyone's favorite, "Ichiban-Saico"!

You've probably also heard Sato & Jonny's #1 hit on Ichiban: Take The F Train.

Salute!

Gospel for the end of the world!

A  mix of brimstone gospel grooves from the 1950s-1970s by DJ Pat K. Some obscure, some not-so-obscure, all sanctified and washed in the blood. Click here to stream!